


These Days

by corastacy



Category: One Day at a Time (TV 2017)
Genre: Airports, Old Friends, Shippy if you Squint, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-07 20:30:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17967530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corastacy/pseuds/corastacy
Summary: She left drunk Schneider 11 years ago. Now she's meeting sober Schneider.





	These Days

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I'm back after a 2 year hiatus. Be gentle. 
> 
> Fic was very loosely inspired by the song "These Days" by Rascal Flatts.

As she watched him corral the teens and respectfully guide the older lady towards the escalator she was certain she was seeing a ghost. She wasn’t sure what she found more surprising: that he was here, that he was he was here with kids or that he was even still alive. 

She was pretty sure he hadn’t mentioned kids? It had been 11 years but those kids were too old to have not been alive back then. The tall brown haired girl with glasses reading the arrivals board had to be at least 17. Step-kids maybe? She decided to watch from the safety of the airport Starbucks for a while longer. Approaching your past takes a bit of courage. He directed the kids to go take their, she assumed, grandmother to a nearby bench while he walked towards the information desk with phone in hand. He flashed the screen to the clerk behind the counter who typed quickly on their computer. Schneider expressed his concerns with wild hand gestures. While she couldn’t hear what was said the patient smiling and occasional eye roll from the representative implied failed attempts at suave conversation. Eventually he gave a small nod in thanks and began to head back on an angle that would bring him within earshot of the coffee shop. 

She had a choice: hide in her phone and let him walk by or she could;

“Schneider?” 

He blinked looking around for a second before he spotted her. “Melanie?” She stood up with a shy smile. He awkwardly turned and headed towards her. “Hey, How-how are you?” he managed. 

“ I’m good. You? You look, good. Great.” She said.

“ I ah, I’m pretty good.” He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced over to where the family was sitting. “ I didn’t know you were still in town. I heard you moved.” 

“ I did. this is a business trip. I’m just waiting for my colleague who was on the flight from San Antonio.” 

“ Yeah that’s the one I’m waiting for too. They said it shouldn’t be too much longer- the pilot made up time in the air which sounds to me like code for speeding. ” They both smiled awkwardly. Schneider knew what he had to do next. “Mel, I owe you an apology, several actually.” 

“No, it’s ok-“ She started before he cut her of. 

“No please, let me say this.” He looked down for a second and sighed. “I put you through a lot. I was a jerk and a shitty friend and I’m really sorry. You did so much for me and I i ever did for you was get you kicked out of bars and accidentally dye your hair green.” 

Melanie couldn’t help but smile, leave it to slightly vain Schneider to remember THAT as one of his biggest mistakes. “It’s really ok” She said. “All I ever wanted was for you to get better, to be the guy I knew was in there. Did you?” She challenged.

“Eventually.” He admitted with a tinge of sadness. “Not before you and a bunch of other good people rightly gave up on me.” 

“ I never gave up on you.” She said “I just couldn’t watch you do it anymore. Self preservation.” He nodded. They were interrupted by the announcement that the flight from San Antonio was arriving. They headed towards the escalator where the rest of team Alvarez was waiting. 

“See her yet?” Schneider asked. 

“No, and No Leslie either.” Lydia answered. She looked Melanie up and down. “ Who is this?” 

“This is an old friend Mel, she’s waiting for the same plane. Mel, this is Lydia, Alex and Elena.” the kids waved while Lydia attempted a subtle stare down. 

“Yo, what Schneider haircut era are you from?” Alex asked her. “Frosted tips? Faux-hawk?” 

“Surfer Shag.” Mel replied.

“Daaaaang she goes back!” Alex nodded approvingly. 

“Look there’s Mami and Dr Berkowitz.” Elena waved to draw their attention over. Before she knew it Mel was shifted out of the group as they descended on the shorter woman and tall older man with hugs, high fives and an epic mix of excited Spanish and English drowning out all other airport noise around them. Once her colleague arrived Mel turned back to say goodbye to a now baggage ladened Schneider. 

“Hey, we’ve got a car waiting so-“ 

“Oh! yeah, no no sorry I” Schneider put down the bags and wiped his slightly sweaty palms on his jeans. 

“It’s ok, I get it.” Mel hugged him. “You have a lovely family.” 

“Yeah?” He said beaming with pride.

“Yeah.” She confirmed. “See you around.” She headed off towards the pick ups area, Looking back one more time to see Schneider bending down to say something quietly to the kids mom. The pretty latino woman turned and looked like she was about to lecture him about something when he backed up and put Alex and Elena between them as human shields. 

In all the years they were friends Melanie had seen him look hyper, angry, sad, tired, goofy and a million other expressions in between. But it wasn’t until she saw his face today that she realized there was one face she had never seen before. 

For the first time, he looked fully content.


End file.
